Frank Baldino, Cephalon leader, dies at 57

FRAZER, Pa. — Frank Baldino, the founder, chairman and CEO of Cephalon, has died, the company said.

Cephalon announced that Baldino, 57, had died Thursday evening while on medical leave, calling him a pioneer in the biotechnology industry and an inspirational leader who would be “sorely missed.” Baldino, who received his doctorate in pharmacology from Temple University, founded the company in 1987 after several years at E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co.

Cephalon spokesman Fritz Bittenbender said the company would not comment on who would take Baldino’s place out of respect for Baldino’s family, though COO Kevin Buchi had been overseeing his duties. The company had not publicly discussed Baldino’s leave of absence and would not disclose the cause of death.

“Kevin’s shown extraordinary leadership through the tough period of time for us, and his leadership will continue into the near future,” Bittenbender told Drug Store News.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — MinuteClinic has entered a clinical collaboration in southern Nevada with St. Rose Dominican Hospitals — members of the Catholic Healthcare West system — to enhance healthcare services provided in communities throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

MinuteClinic, which is owned by CVS Caremark, operates six clinics inside CVS locations throughout southern Nevada.

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals operates three hospitals in southern Nevada, and it joins four hospitals in the Phoenix metropolitan area as the second group of hospitals within CHW to affiliate with MinuteClinic.

Under the agreement, physicians affiliated with St. Rose Dominican Hospitals may serve as medical directors for MinuteClinic locations in the Las Vegas area. In addition, MinuteClinic and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals will collaborate on patient education and disease management initiatives, as well as on informing patients of the services that each offers.

MinuteClinic and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals will begin to work together to integrate their electronic medical record systems to streamline communication.

"We are pleased to grow our relationship with CHW as we work with the teams at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals to improve access to high-quality, affordable medical services through our convenient retail clinics near where people live and work," stated Andrew Sussman, president of MinuteClinic and SVP/associate medical officer of CVS Caremark. "St. Rose Dominican Hospitals has served residents in southern Nevada for more than 60 years and has established an outstanding reputation for community service, clinical quality and care that complements MinuteClinic’s desire to make health care easier and more affordable for local residents."

In addition to the $11.5 million upfront payment, Impax Pharmaceuticals, the branded drug division of Impax Labs, is eligible to receive potential payments of up to $175 million upon the successful achievement of development and commercialization milestones.

Impax Pharmaceuticals will manufacture and supply IPX066 — which currently is undergoing late-stage clinical trials — to GSK, which will have the opportunity to sell IPX066 throughout the world, except in the United States and Taiwan.

Impax said it expects to file a new drug application in the United States for the Parkinson’s disease drug in late 2011, and will be responsible for commercialization here.

“We are very pleased to announce this development and collaboration agreement with GSK, which is a significant milestone in the development of Impax and an important achievement in the planned global commercialization for IPX066 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease,” stated Michael Nestor, Impax Pharmaceuticals president. “GSK is an ideal partner for IPX066, combining global best-in-class development [and] regulatory and commercial experience in Parkinson’s disease, which will be an asset in the successful commercialization of IPX066.”

As part of a panel at the recent Drug Store News Industry Issues Summit, officials from Walmart and Kroger shared the ways the two organizations go about taking a collaborative approach to health care.

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